SMLStory Edition #10 - Yan Wai

Background?

Hi everyone, my name is Yan Wai, and I was born and raised as a Klang gurlie ????????. I’m a 2nd Year Biomedicine student at Sunway University. Aside from my academics, I am the General Secretary of Sunway University Student Council (SUSC) Term 23/24. Besides that, I am also a part-time tutor, teaching Biology and Science for Form 4 and Form 5. My hobbies include listening to music (classical for studies especially) and watercolour paintings with calligraphy (which has helped me cope during MCO).?

Challenges

The main challenge that I have faced throughout my 2 years of degree here is time constraints. This is mainly because I need to divide my time between studies, assignments, lab reports, council duties, preparing teaching materials for my classes, and time for my family and friends. Sometimes my time is fully used on all the above matters, and I need to manage my time properly and prioritise my tasks throughout the day, week, and month. To solve this, I have learned (and am still learning) how to prioritise tasks and plan my time wisely. I started using tools to increase my productivity, such as the calendar app on my phone and laptop to manage my time, task deadlines and meetings, Notion and Google Sheets to track the progress of tasks, and I have recently utilised the Reminder app to remind myself what are the tasks that I should do at this time and day. I will put priority on the tasks based on their deadline and urgency, and complete them from the ones with the highest urgency and the closest deadline to the ones with low urgency and no deadlines.??

My University life?

University life has been amazing so far. I have met amazing friends, supportive lecturers and I have connected with inspiring people from different schools as well. I am grateful to have this opportunity to meet individuals with different academic backgrounds and to collaborate with them to plan and execute events. I am grateful to have met a supportive group of friends since Year 1 (Coey, Grace, Karisma, Su Yee, Natasha, Joyee, Qian Ya and Chien Yi) with whom we can collaborate across different assignments, lab reports and study groups. I am also grateful for all the lecturers I have met since Year 1, to be supportive of my academic journey and answered all my queries enthusiastically. This gives me a motivational boost to continue my journey along this degree and strive to deliver the best results that I can. I believe that the lecturers who have taught me 2 subjects or even 3 subjects have seen how I have grown and progressed ever since I met them.

Top 3 things about SMLS?

The overall campus vibe????

Being the most happening campus, Sunway has a lot of activities going on, and there is definitely something that fits the needs of every student as there are more than 90 Clubs and Societies as well as Student Leadership Bodies on campus, and they are all very welcoming to any students that have the interest to join them. For example, Sunway Biological Society plans and executes activities related to biology, but the background of the members and committees are diverse and people who are from a non-biological science background can also participate in the activities and even be committee members.

The people?

In general, I found that the people from Sunway University are warm and friendly, and they make you feel welcomed to the campus and you are always ready to connect with them. In SMLS, I find that my peers and seniors are supportive throughout my degree, and we will help each other when in need. For example, we can always reach out to one another if we have any questions about our assignments, exchange revision notes, and help promote and join each other’s events.

The facilities?

In general, I found that the facilities I have used in the laboratories are very up-to-date, and it has enhanced my knowledge and understanding of the biological concepts behind them. With all the lab apparatus available on campus, it is certainly able to help us undergraduates gain a very good understanding of how to use it, how to analyse the data, and what the data means, which can significantly benefit our career along the lines of Biological Sciences. I like that the labs are open to the public during open days, where I have volunteered to guide individuals of different ages and academic backgrounds to conduct simple science experiments and explain the scientific concepts behind them. It is truly gratifying to be able to share my knowledge with the public and inspire them to appreciate the contributions of scientists in the field of Biological Science.